I now appreciate The Flu far more than I used to. It was simple. People who were concerned about its effects would get a vaccine. Everyone else went about their business.
Each flu season there was a different variant that the scientists tried to predict and then create a vaccine to best combat it.
We didn’t name the different variants. It was generic. We called the winter months cold & flu season. People felt unwell, to varying degrees, for a few days or a couple of weeks, generally, and that was it.
No daily count of those vaccinated, infected, hospitalised or dead. Rare, if any, government briefings. Few people feared the flu. We certainly didn’t test daily to see if we might have it.
Going to restaurants and pubs and concerts was a thing. There was international travel! And you weren’t fired because you didn’t get the jab. Actually, most people didn’t get the vaccine. And no one else noticed or asked. You certainly weren’t ostracised or fired.
Sometimes we don’t know how lucky we are until the time has passed. The flu was an occasional inconvenience for most people pre-2020.
Now we might need boosters every 6 months for the rest of our lives. Masks will be worn indoors on and off forever too. Get used to school closures and online learning every 3-6 months. And lockdowns will be brought out for a month or two every year or the self-imposed ones might suffice.
The hospitality industry will never be the same. Nor will the joy of travel.
At what point will certain people, politicians and media be ready to start calling this The Flu and get back to some normalcy. Or are the last 21 months a glimpse of how the next 50+ years will be?
